Florida SB 1636: Big Cypress Basin

Bill Text

1636 
Big Cypress Basin 
2026-01-09T08:36:02Z 
Revising the membership of the Big Cypress Basin governing board; requiring the South Florida Water Management District to revise the boundaries of the Big Cypress Basin based on a specified study at a specified time; requiring the South Florida Water Management District to ensure that basin ad valorem taxes collected within the Big Cypress Basin be used in a specified manner, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1636 

 By Senator Martin 

 33-01424A-26 20261636__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to the Big Cypress Basin; amending s. 
 3 373.0693, F.S.; revising the membership of the Big 
 4 Cypress Basin governing board; requiring the South 
 5 Florida Water Management District to revise the 
 6 boundaries of the Big Cypress Basin based on a 
 7 specified study at a specified time; removing obsolete 
 8 language; amending s. 373.503, F.S.; requiring the 
 9 South Florida Water Management District to ensure that 
 10 basin ad valorem taxes collected within the Big 
 11 Cypress Basin be used in a specified manner; 
 12 reenacting s. 373.0697, F.S., relating to basin taxes, 
 13 to incorporate the amendment made to s. 373.503, F.S., 
 14 in a reference thereto; providing an effective date. 
 15 
 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 17 
 18 Section 1. Subsection (9) of section 373.0693, Florida 
 19 Statutes, is amended to read: 
 20 373.0693 Basins; basin boards.— 
 21 (9) At 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 1976, a portion of the 
 22 Big Cypress Basin of the Ridge and Lower Gulf Coast District 
 23 which is being annexed into the South Florida Water Management 
 24 District by change of boundaries pursuant to chapter 76-243, 
 25 Laws of Florida, shall be formed into a subdistrict or basin of 
 26 the South Florida Water Management District. Such portion shall 
 27 be designated as the Big Cypress Basin. On or before December 
 28 31, 1976, The Governor shall appoint six not fewer than five 
 29 persons from Collier County and two persons from Lee County who 
 30 reside within the Big Cypress Basin residing in the area to 
 31 serve as members of the governing board of the basin, effective 
 32 at the time of transfer and subject to confirmation by the 
 33 Senate as provided in subsection (4). 
 34 (a) The initial boundaries of the Big Cypress Basin shall 
 35 be established by resolution of the governing board of Central 
 36 and Southern Florida Flood Control District, after notice and 
 37 hearing, and generally shall encompass the Big Cypress Swamp and 
 38 southwestern coastal area hydrologic cataloging unit, as 
 39 indicated on River Basin and Hydrologic Unit Map of Florida 
 40 1975, Florida Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Geology 
 41 Map Series No. 72. 
 42 (b) At 11:59 p.m. on July 1, 2026, the governing board of 
 43 the South Florida Water Management District shall establish the 
 44 boundary of the Big Cypress Basin as the scientific boundary 
 45 recommended in the Big Cypress Basin Boundary Delineation study 
 46 that the district presented to the Legislature on January 12, 
 47 2021, except that the new basin boundary may include only 
 48 counties that have at least 25 percent of their jurisdictions 
 49 delineated within the boundary. 
 50 (b) If the governing board shall fail to establish the 
 51 initial boundaries on or before December 31, 1976, the initial 
 52 boundaries shall be the same boundaries as described for the Big 
 53 Cypress Basin of the Ridge and Lower Gulf Coast District. 
 54 (c) The governing board of the South Florida Water 
 55 Management District subsequently may change the boundaries of 
 56 the basin, but may not abolish the basin. 
 57 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 
 58 373.503, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 59 373.503 Manner of taxation.— 
 60 (3) The districts may levy ad valorem taxes on property 
 61 within the district solely for the purposes of this chapter and 
 62 of chapter 25270, 1949, Laws of Florida, as amended, and chapter 
 63 61-691, Laws of Florida, as amended. If appropriate, taxes 
 64 levied by each governing board may be separated by the governing 
 65 board into a millage necessary for the purposes of the district 
 66 and a millage necessary for financing basin functions specified 
 67 in s. 373.0695. 
 68 (b) The apportionment in The South Florida Water Management 
 69 District shall ensure that: 
 70 1. The apportionment within the district is be a maximum of 
 71 40 percent for district purposes and a maximum of 60 percent for 
 72 basin purposes; and 
 73 2. The basin ad valorem taxes levied within the counties 
 74 that comprise the Big Cypress Basin are used for projects and 
 75 flood control operations and maintenance within the counties in 
 76 which such taxes were collected, respectively. 
 77 Section 3. For the purpose of incorpora